Jally’s giant Ludo board

- Nadia woman earns a place in Guinness records

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Krishnagar, Feb. 24: Jally Mandal loves to play Ludo and she rues that not too many play the board game anymore.

So, the 30-year-old Krishnagar resident did something that she thought could take the game outdoors to be watched and played by many people. Jally made a huge plastic-and-flex Ludo board — 3.71mX3.67m — two big rubber dice and for the casting bowl, she bought a bucket.

The icing on the cake, or the board should we say, was when the Guinness World Records gave her a place in it for making the biggest board game.

Jally plays Ludo everyday with her brother and his friends. The arts graduate from Ranaghat College also teaches children at home.

Like the size of the Ludo board, Jally has a big idea for the game that she wants to send as a suggestion to chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

Jally said the board game could be used to promote peace in Jungle Mahal and to involve women in the process. “If the state government can use football to promote bonhomie and friendship (in Jungle Mahal), Ludo can also play the same role.” She said: “I am happy to be recognised by the Guinness World Records. I would appeal to chief minister Mamata Banerjee to give me a chance to let me show how Ludo can be an outdoor game.”

“Ludo is my favourite game but it is not so popular now as it used to be mainly because of television. I believe that if some initiative is taken by the government, the game can be promoted as an outdoor game with giant boards,” Jally said.

Jally with a little support of brother Manoj, a work assistant at Nadia zilla parishad, made the giant board using plastic boards.

“I covered the plastic boards with flex sheets and then painted the boxes and made the tracks,” Jally said. “I made the chhakka using soft rubber and used a plastic bucket as the cup for rolling the dice,” Jally said.

“I first displayed the board at a programme at my brother’s office when some of his colleagues advised me to send it to the Guinness World Records,” Jally said. “So I wrote to the Guinness World Records, who advised me to send proof. I then sent them a detailed video recording of a demonstration of the game and the measurement of the board in November last year,” she said.

“I demonstrated the board in public and in presence of some prominent persons like the additional district magistrate and some lawyers and engineers from the PWD and the zilla parishad. Four women played the game, which was video-recorded and sent to Guinness World Records for acceptance. My effort was aimed at promoting the game,” Jally said.

“Guinness World Records accepted my Ludo board as the largest board game and issued a certificate on January 28, 2013. It was forwarded by Kristian Teufel on behalf of the Guinness authority,” Jally said.

The additional district magistrate, Ashoke Kumar Saha, who witnessed the game, said: “It was a great experience watching such a game being played on a huge Ludo board as an outdoor board game with a big crowd watching.”